Boat survivor: I am a refugee with a voice, not just a statistic

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Najeeba Wazefadost with Afghan refugee students in Iran, where she helps with education expenses.

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United Nations General Assembly's refugee summit takes place Monday

Wazefadost: Refugees consigned to the status of statistics

Najeeba Wazefadost is an Afghan refugee who arrived in Australia by boat in September 2000 aged 12. She is now a refugee advocate and president of Hazara Women of Australia. The views expressed are her own.

(CNN)As world leaders gather in New York to discuss refugees and migration, I want to use my voice to share my story.

I speak for those that are under discussion but are not able to contribute; I speak for those that are not able to talk about the situations they are fleeing from.

Leaving your country for good is one of the hardest decisions a person can be forced to make. It means a break with all that you know; your family, your livelihood, your friends, how to fit in, how to be part of a society.

The UNGA in numbers

86 heads of state

1 Crown prince

5 Vice Presidents

49 heads of government

51 ministers

3 observers

545 meeting requests

But I was born in a country that's shattered after decades of war.

My childhood was stolen; I don't have good memories with other children, instead I remember persecution, death and being afraid. Afghanistan has few signs of justice, humanity and freedom left. People like me who were born into the minority ethnic group, the Hazara, are subjected to discrimination and slavery at the hands of the majority ethnic groups.

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We got on a boat, on a piece of wood, not knowing where it was taking us; our safety and security limited to that piece of wood, risking starving or drowning at sea. We were coming from a war-torn country and were traumatized.

It felt like prison with no access to the outside world. There was no privacy, with 24-hour video surveillance. I was 12 -- a child -- and being locked up inside an overcrowded detention center created the sense of being treated like an object. I remember being known by a number, rather than my name. I didn't feel human.

Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

An image on the Facebook site "Free the Children NAURU," uploaded in November, 2015, shows a small child with a tally of how long they have been on the island.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

At the end of 2015, 537 people were being held in the Nauru detention center. Of those, 68 were children.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

At the end of 2015, of the 1,792 people being held in Australian immigration facilities, 23.2% had been held for more than 730 days, or more than two years.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

The children are being held on Nauru while their families' claims for asylum are processed. Many fled war-torn countries and entered Australian waters by boat. The Australian government says they'll never be resettled in the country.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

Australia reopened its controversial offshore processing centers in 2012, after a surge in arrivals of unseaworthy boats. In 2013, families with children were transferred to Nauru until their claims could be processed.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

The Australian government says the number of children in immigration detention centers dropped steadily between 2013 and 2015. However, numbers have leveled off since February 2015.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

On average, detainees spend 445 days in detention facilities while their claims are processed, according to government figures.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

The conditions endured by children at the Nauru detention facility have been the subject of a government inquiry, which investigated claims of sexual and physical abuse.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

The Moss Review found that many asylum seekers in the detention center were apprehensive about their personal safety. It found that some instances of sexual and physical assault were not being reported.

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Photos:Growing up in detention: The children of Nauru

The Australian government accepted all 19 recommendations made in the report. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton vowed to tighten security at the center, saying "I find the thought of anybody, in particular children, being sexually assaulted completely abhorrent."

Unfortunately, most international leaders seem to look at these people from a position of power rather than from a position of mercy.

I'll never forget the first time I was smiled at by an Australian woman. She taught me to start trusting other Australians, and that they weren't all the same as the security guards in detention.

I remember being so frightened sitting in a mixed classroom for the first time. And the first time we went shopping we filled up a trolley of food without knowing we had to pay!

Najeeba with her sisters.

Most people were welcoming, but at the same time many called us "queue jumper." But no queue exists -- coming by boat was our only choice. I always say to people, imagine a room with one window and a door to exit. If the room catches fire, even if exit is only through the window, you'll jump out of it rather than go through the door.

Not simple statistics

The U.N.'s refugee agency reports that the number of displaced people is at its highest ever, with the total at the end of 2015 reaching 65.3 million. The refugee problem from Syria is immense. Nearly five million refugees are now in the countries bordering Syria -- Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Unfortunately, these huge numbers are hard to grasp, and people end up being consigned to the status of simple statistics. It becomes easy to forget that people, whether they are asylum seekers or not, are mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, grandparents, daughters and sons.

Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Syrian refugees await their fate near the Turkish border gate as they flee the northern embattled city of Aleppo on February 6, 2016.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Refugees push each other as they wait for tents near the Turkish border on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A refugee girl reacts near the Turkish border gate on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Refugees jostle one another for tents near the Turkish border on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Refugee children arrive at the Turkish border gate on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Syrian refugees are pictured in a camp as they flee the city of Aleppo on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A refugee carries a heavy bag of items near the Turkish border gate on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A refugee woman carries her belongings near the Turkish border gate on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Refugee children sit on a car near the Turkish border crossing on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A refugee warms himself at a bonfire near the Turkish border on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Refugees brave the cold and rain as they arrive at the Turkish border on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A child tries to climb over a fence near the Turkish border as Syrians fleeing the northern city of Aleppo wait on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A young refugee carrying belongings arrives at the Turkish border on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

Refugees arrive near the Turkish border as they flee the city of Aleppo on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A child carries his belongings as Syrian refugees arrive at the Turkish border on February 6.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A child sleeps as Syrians fleeing the northern embattled city of Aleppo wait near the Turkish border on February 5, 2016.

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Photos:Syrian refugees flee embattled city of Aleppo

A Syrian teenager and a child look on near the Turkish border on February 5.

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Today, I am no longer defined by my past and I have been able to achieve dreams that I never thought possible. I have graduated with a degree in medical science and work as a case manager in Settlement Services International. I have my own house and have established my own childcare business.

I have been given many awards for my community work. I have built a new life and I have contributed to my new home's society. I am an individual: I have hopes, dreams, fears and feelings. I hope the world leaders in New York remember the 65 million refugees out there might be 65 million other people like me.

In my view, Australian politicians have indoctrinated people's minds to believe refugee issues are all about protecting the borders, as if all refugees are some kind of terrorist.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is attending the summit Monday and Australian policy is expected to be under scrutiny. This week, he said: "Public opinion will not accept a strong, generous humanitarian program... unless the government is seen to be in command of its borders."

While individual countries accepting more resettled refugees is a welcome change, Australia, in my view, has accepted too few. I hope that during this summit Obama and the other world leaders use the language of humanity, because humanity is a language of shared responsibility.